Lieutenant Jason Bennet lived through the Civil War, but wounded at the Battle of Five Forks, he didn't see its end. He wakes in a Washington D. C. hospital with no memory and is driven by the need to find home and family. Boarding the riverboat in Cincinnati, he saves old Cyrus Beauregard from murder. From their fiery first encounter in Cincinnati, a warrior's bond develops. In Memphis Jason finds the Union Army occupying his home, with no sign of family or connection to his past. Putting his disappointment aside he re-joins Cyrus on his riverboat. Jason gradually discovers in himself a heightened sense of perception which both helps and haunts, endearing him to Cyrus and his strange crew. Deception forms the line between Cyrus and his group of Texas ranchers on one side and the crooked provisional government on the other. With fists and guns Jason fights for the future of all who survive.